If you’re wondering how to earn money as a travel blogger and if you’re passionate about traveling and sharing your experiences with others, becoming a travel blogger can be a great way to turn your hobby into a career. But you might be asking yourself, “How to earn money as a travel blogger?”

Not only can you document your adventures and inspire others to explore the world, but you can also earn money while doing it.

In this blog post, we’re gonna explore some of the most effective ways to monetize your travel blog and turn it into a profitable business.

My simple answer to how to earn money as a travel blogger :

One of the most common ways to earn money as a travel blogger is through affiliate marketing.

By partnering with companies that offer travel-related products or services, you can earn a commission for every sale made through your unique affiliate link.

This can include everything from hotel bookings to travel gear, and can be a great way to earn passive income while sharing products that you genuinely believe in.

However, monetizing a travel blog is a lot more difficult than monetizing with digital products and services. Why? Because you need a lot of blog traffic / pageviews coming to your travel blog each month.

Let’s say you need 7,000 pageviews or more and 10,000 followers on instagram in order to score a deal with a travel company. Well 7,000 pageviews will take some time to reach.

Another popular method of monetizing a travel blog is through sponsored content. This can include sponsored posts, sponsored links, or even sponsored social media posts.

Brands are often willing to pay travel bloggers to feature their products or services in their content, and this can be a great way to earn money while still providing value to your audience.

However, it’s important to ensure that any sponsored content aligns with your brand and values, and doesn’t compromise the integrity of your blog. Also important to note that this as well takes a lot of blog traffic to get sponsorships.

Let’s dive even deeper:

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Understanding the Travel Blogging Industry

If you’re interested in becoming a travel blogger and earning money with travel blogging, it’s important to understand the industry and what it takes to be successful.

In this section, we’ll cover two important aspects of the travel blogging industry: market research and niche selection, and monetization strategies.

Market Research and Niche Selection

Before you start a travel blog, it’s important to do some market research and select a niche. This will help you stand out in a crowded market and attract a loyal audience. Here are some steps to follow:

1. Identify your target audience: Who are you writing for? What are their interests, needs, and pain points? This will help you create content that resonates with your readers. Ex: What is there to do when I get to Michigan? Traveling to Michigan with Kids… etc.
2. Research your competition: Who are the other travel bloggers in your niche? What topics are they covering? How are they monetizing their blogs? This will help you identify gaps in the market and differentiate yourself from the competition. In 2024, you really got to stand out or you will drown in the sea of sameness.
3. Choose your niche: Based on your target audience and competition research, choose a niche that you’re passionate about and that has monetization potential. For example, you could focus on budget travel, luxury travel, adventure travel, or solo travel. Or even travel with kids! You could niche down to a specific state and location.

Monetization Strategies in Travel Blogging

Once you’ve established your travel blog, it’s time to start monetizing it. Here are some common monetization strategies in travel blogging:

1. Affiliate marketing: This involves promoting products or services on your blog and earning a commission for each sale made through your unique affiliate link. For example, you could promote travel gear, travel insurance, or accommodation booking websites. However, In order to make money with affiliate marketing, you really need to focus heavily on growing your blog traffic. You need high pageviews for that affiliate commission to turn to big money.
2. Advertising: This involves displaying ads on your blog and earning revenue based on clicks or impressions. You could use Google AdSense or work with a travel-related ad network. Highly recommend you do NOT do this when you are a new blogger. Stay away. Why do I say this? Because ads will pop all over your site and make your target audinece angry and click off when they can’t simply read your content.
3. Sponsored content: This involves working with brands to create sponsored posts, reviews, or social media content. You could also participate in press trips or fam tours. But like I said above, this takes a lot of monthly pageviews and social media followers to show these companies that you have a lot of people seeing your blog posts.
4. Digital products: This involves creating and selling digital products such as e-books, courses, or printables related to travel. HIGHLY recommend you do this to start while growing your blog traffic.
5. Services: This involves offering services such as travel planning, photography, or writing for a fee. HIGHLY recommend this as well if you’re wondering how to earn money with travel blogging.

Remember, it’s important to choose monetization strategies that align with your niche and target audience.

Don’t be afraid to experiment and try new things to see what works best for your blog.

Creating a Travel Blog

If you’re interested in earning money as a travel blogger, the first step is to create a travel blog. Here are some things to consider when creating your Travel blog:

Choosing the Right Platform

Choosing the right platform is crucial when creating a travel blog. There are many blogging platforms available, including WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, and Blogger. Each platform has its own set of features and benefits, so it’s important to choose the one that best suits your needs.

However, even though those are the most POPULAR platforms – they are not the easiest and definitely not professional. If you want to look professional from the very beginning, I highly recommend you start your blog using Showit.

This is a travel blog website that I recently designed for my blog coaching client using Showit:

Get your first month of Showit completely free!

Do you see how this website really stands out? It’s not an ugly DIY WordPress blog you struggled to put together yourself. It’s beautiful and captures the attention of someone who is looking to Travel using your recommendations.

An amazing Travel brand and Travel website also builds trust within your readers. You will seem more professional and they will take your travel advice and click on your affiliate links to purchase what you recommend more than

This is the best way to earn money as a travel blogger – building trust with your audinece.

Theres 3 things you need to make money:

1. PEOPLE to see your travel blogging posts. Without people, you won’t earn money as a travel blogger.
2. A good brand and website design to call them in and most importantly, STAY on your website for longer because they trust you.
3. Great travel blogging content to build authority and trust & SEO – search engine optimization which will allow anyone to search on Google for your travel tips and recommendations.

Website Design and User Experience

Like I said above, your travel blogs website design and user experience are important factors that can make or break your blog.

Your website should be visually appealing, easy to navigate, and user-friendly. It should also be optimized for mobile devices, as many people access the internet on their smartphones and tablets.

If you’re struggling to design your own travel blogging website, check out my website design service and combination of blog coaching here.

I don’t design bloggers websites. I design bloggers websites that are built to be monetized and GROWN.

Content Creation and Storytelling

Content creation and storytelling are essential for creating a successful travel blog. Your blog should be filled with engaging content that tells a story and inspires your readers.

You should also focus on creating high-quality content that is informative and useful to your readers. Google is looking for ORIGINAL and DETAILED blog content to rank that is SEO optimized.

So those 500 word blog posts you put together quickly? They aren’t going to rank. You need to write really good content that is 1800 words+.

And the content that you generated with Chat GPT? Forget it. That won’t rank either because it is using other content that has already been published to write. There are no unique opinions from YOUR point of view.

People do NOT follow blogs for just content. They follow blogs for YOUR content. YOUR unique perspectives. The brand is YOU.

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Also, make your content stand out, consider using multimedia elements such as photos, videos, and infographics. This will help to make your blog more visually appealing and engaging.

Overall, creating a successful travel blog requires a combination of the right platform, website design, and unique content creation. By following these tips, you can create a travel blog that is both engaging and profitable.

Growing Your Audience

To make money as a travel blogger, you need to have a large and engaged audience. Here are a few ways to grow your audience:

SEO for Travel Blogs

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the practice of optimizing your website to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). This is important for travel bloggers because people often use search engines to find travel information. To improve your blog’s SEO, you should:

• Use relevant keywords in your blog posts
• Optimize your blog’s meta descriptions and titles
• Use internal linking to connect related content on your blog
• Build high-quality backlinks to your blog from other websites

Let’s first dive deep into the steps to keyword research. I’m going to make this SO simple for you.

Step 1: Head to Ubbersuggest and make an account.

Step 2: Head to the sidebar on the left and go down to where you see “Labs”.

Step 3: Click on “Keyword Generator”.

Step 4: Type in your domain and press “Next”.

Step 5: Put in your location.

Step 6: Type in a competitors name and press next.

Step 7: Now wait for it to generate you the keyword list. It’s going to be LARGE.

Step 8: When it’s done, open up a Google spread sheet and copy and paste all those keywords there.

And wala! You have a HUGE list of SEO keywords to use for blog posts.

What’s next? Finding amazing high volume and low competition keywords. HOW?

Step 1: Copy a keyword from your spreadsheet. This should be on a topic that you want to write on your blog.

Step 2: Head back to ubbersuggest. Click on Keyword research in the menu on the left again. And click “Keyword Visualization”.

Step 3: Paste your keyword and press search.

Step 4: Click on “Data”.

Step 5: Toggle down the keywords until you find a high volume and low SD (or in another words low competition).

Every niche is different but I decided to choose ” How to earn money as a travel blogger ” as a keyword I wanted to try and rank for this blog post.

Why? Because it has an okay amount of volume and a low SD score. I don’t use any SD that is above 60 since I don’t have a very high domain authority for this domain yet.

I recommend that you also target those “okay” volume keywords for the low competition score so you can actually start ranking for keywords and bring atleast SOME blog traffic to your blog.

What is the next step? Writing a blog post and distributing the keyword throughout. Read this blog post to learn how.

Social Media Marketing

Social media is a great way to connect with potential readers and promote your blog. Here are a few tips for using social media to grow your audience:

• Choose the right platforms for your audience (e.g. Instagram for visual content, Twitter for quick updates)
• Post regularly and consistently
• Use hashtags to reach new audiences
• Engage with your followers by responding to comments and messages

For most niches, social media is a last resort for promoting your blogging content.

However, for the Travel Blogging niche, it’s a definite must that you use this. You want to post regular content that is valuable. I would just repurpose most important bits and pieces of your blog post into carousel posts on Instagram.

And you definitely want to post your travel content in the forms of reels and images.

Oh and this is important to remember, ALWAYS insert calls to actions to your blog posts and freebies.

Email Marketing and Community Building

Email marketing is a great way to build a community around your blog and stay in touch with your readers. If you’re wondering how to earn money as a travel blogger than this is something you should pay extra attention to.

Starting an email list is the very best way to bring people BACK to your blog and to build a loyal following. You don’t want someone to come to your blog, LOVE your content, and then leave and forget you, right?

So the best way to build a relationship with them is to get them on your email list and regularly send out emails with valuable content that brings them back to your blog posts, products, or services.

Here are a few tips for building your email list and engaging your subscribers:

• Offer a free incentive (e.g. a travel guide or eBook) in exchange for email addresses. The freebie needs to be highly valuable to your target audinece. It needs to solve a traveling PAIN POINT they have.
• Write a welcome sequence that will automatically send to them once they sign up to the freebie. This will be a few emails delivering the freebie, introducing you, the blog, showcases best blogging content, etc.
• Send regular newsletters with updates and exclusive content- I like to repupose my blog posts into these by copying and pasting the introduction in the email and then saying “finish reading the post by clicking here” at the end. It works amazing!

By implementing these strategies, you can grow your audience and increase your chances of making money as a travel blogger.

Don’t forget this step because lady, it’s the MOST important!

Monetizing Your Travel Blog

If you are a travel blogger, you can monetize your blog in several ways. Here are some of the most popular ways to make money from your travel blog since you’re wondering the question ” How to earn money as a travel blogger “.

Affiliate Marketing

One of the easiest ways to monetize your travel blog is through affiliate marketing. You can promote products or services related to travel on your blog, and earn a commission for each sale made through your affiliate link.

To get started with affiliate marketing, you can sign up for affiliate programs such as Amazon Associates, Booking.com Affiliate Partner Program, or Skyscanner Affiliate Program.

Affiliate marketing is hard. It is NOT easy to earn money as a travel blogger by solely using affiliate marketing. But here’s a list of my best tips for doing well with affiliate marketing:

1. Always put your affiliate links more towards the TOP of the blog post. Since most people won’t read the entire post.
2. Always write your blog posts for the SKIMMER and strategically place your links in places where the person who likes to skim a blog post would see most.
3. Always only advertise products that you actually purchased and used. People like authenticity. If others see YOU using it while traveling, they will purchase too. So take PICTURES of you using whatever it is you’re recommending. AND BAM, you’ll get 70% more affiliate sales.
4. Study your analytics. If a blog post is doing REALLY well, insert more affiliate links.
5. Last but not least, you need blog traffic. And you need a LOT of blog traffic to see your post in order to make money. Atleast 7,000 pageviews+ per month. Never neglect SEO and Pinterest.

So there you have it! Affiliate marketing will be the slow route to earning money with your travel blog but you will still make money if you always work on your blog traffic.

Sponsored Content

Another way to make money from your travel blog is through sponsored content. You can partner with travel brands and tourism boards to create sponsored content such as blog posts, social media posts, or videos.

In exchange for promoting their products or services, you can receive payment or other perks such as free accommodation, flights, or tours.

When creating sponsored content, it’s important to disclose that it is sponsored to build trust.

This is another not-so-easy way to make money on a travel blog. You need to show proof to these brands that you have a lot of blog traffic, social media followers and engagement, and a lot of email subscribers in order for them to want to work with you.

Your blog needs to be seen as a “good investment” to them. When you are at the 10,000 pageviews per month mark then you can start writing pitches to brands.

Selling Products and Services

The BEST and FASTEST way to monetize your travel blog is by selling products or services related to travel. For example, you can sell e-books, courses, or travel guides to your audience.

You can also offer services such as travel planning, photography, or writing. To sell products or services on your blog, you can set up an online store or use platforms such as Etsy or Gumroad.

Why is it more easy to earn money on your travel blog than it is with affiliate marketing or sponsored posts? Because you only need a couple hundred of people to see your blog posts to make decent money versus thousands.

I was making 6 figures blogging when I had only 2,000 pageviews or less per month on my blog simply because I had created my OWN offers to sell first.

In summary, there are several ways to monetize your travel blog, including affiliate marketing, sponsored content, and selling products and services. Choose the methods that work best for your blog and audience, and always disclose any sponsored and affiliate links in your content.

Expanding Your Revenue Streams

As a travel blogger, it’s important to have multiple revenue streams to ensure a steady income. Here are three ways to expand your revenue streams:

Freelance Writing and Photography

One way to increase your income as a travel blogger is to offer your writing and photography services to other publications and websites. Many travel bloggers have found success in freelance writing and photography, as it allows them to showcase their skills and gain exposure to new audiences.

To get started, create a portfolio of your best work and start pitching to publications and websites that align with your niche. You can also sign up for freelance platforms such as Upwork or Freelancer to find potential clients.

There are a lot of travel blogs out there that can use the help of small writers. And when you write for other sites? You have the potential to get thousands of eyes on your blog when they let you advertise youself.

Online Courses and Workshops

Another way to generate income as a travel blogger is to create and sell online courses and workshops. This is a great option for bloggers who have a particular skill or expertise that they can teach others.

To get started, identify a skill that you can teach and create a course or workshop around it. You can use platforms such as Teachable to host your course and sell it to your audience.

I know that a course or workshop isn’t the most popular way to earn money as a travel blogger but if you’re super creative, you can make anything happen!

Sustaining Your Travel Blog Business

As a travel blogger, it’s important to not only focus on creating great content but also to sustain your business in the long run. In this section, we’ll discuss some key factors to consider when it comes to sustaining your travel blog business.

Financial Planning for Bloggers

One of the most important aspects of sustaining your travel blog business is financial planning. It’s essential to keep track of your income and expenses, and to create a budget for your business. This will help you understand where your money is going and how much you need to earn to sustain your business.

Consider using accounting software such as QuickBooks or FreshBooks to keep track of your finances. You can also create a spreadsheet to track your income and expenses. Make sure to include all your expenses, such as website hosting, travel expenses, and equipment costs.

Additionally, consider diversifying your income streams. Don’t rely solely on sponsored posts or affiliate marketing. Look for other ways to monetize your blog, such as creating digital products or offering consulting services.

Even when you are a new blogger and you’re only making a couple hundred dollars per month for example, you still want to have a solid foundation in place for when you do start hitting the big bucks.

When you run your blog as a professional blogger from the very beginning, you’re telling your subconcious and the world that you are serious and you will be blessed because of it.

When I first started blogging, I didn’t take it very seriously. My finances were everywhere. But when I finally started to run it as an actual business, everything changed. In fact, I made more than $30k.

Legal Considerations

Another important aspect of sustaining your travel blog business is legal considerations. Make sure you’re following all the laws and regulations related to blogging, such as disclosing sponsored and affiliate links and content and paying taxes on your income.

Consider consulting with a lawyer or accountant to ensure you’re following all the legal requirements. You may also want to consider getting business insurance to protect yourself in case of any legal issues.

I’m not a lawyer, so I cannot give you legal advice. However, there’s 3 things you DO need that I 10000% know you need in order to make money on your travel blog.

1. Privacy policy page
2. Terms and Conditions Page
3. Affilitate Link disclaimers in ALL blog posts containing links

Don’t get yourself into trouble by looing these 3 important legalities.

Maintaining Work-Life Balance

As a travel blogger, it’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of traveling and creating content. However, it’s important to maintain a healthy work-life balance to avoid burnout.

I really burnt out in my first year of starting a blog because I was so inspired and motivated to do it. I began to neglect my health, fitness, eating, showering, etc.

This put me into a big depression. Even during Covid, this happened. I neglected my house cleaning. It was a nightmare.

LIFE FIRST. BLOG AFTER.

This will help you stay consistent too.

So how do you avoid burnout?

Create a schedule for your work and travel activities. Make sure to schedule in time for rest and relaxation, as well as time for work. Consider setting boundaries for when you’ll work and when you’ll take time off.

Additionally, consider outsourcing some tasks to free up your time. For example, you can hire a virtual assistant to help with administrative tasks or a photographer to take photos for your blog.

If you want to earn money as a travel blogger even faster, a virtual assistant is a MUST.

Hiring someone to help you can seem a bit scary, especially when you aren’t even making any money yet. But trust me, when you hire people to help you… you WILL start to make that money back x5.

By considering these key factors, you can sustain your travel blog business in the long run and continue to create great content for your audience.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What are effective ways for monetizing a travel blog?

There are several ways to monetize a travel blog. Some of the most effective ways include affiliate marketing, sponsored content, advertising, and selling digital products. Affiliate marketing involves promoting products or services on your blog and earning a commission for every sale made through your referral link. Sponsored content involves partnering with brands or companies to create content that promotes their products or services. Advertising involves placing ads on your blog and earning money for every click or impression. Selling digital products such as e-books, courses, or photography can also be a profitable way to monetize your travel blog.

Can selling travel itineraries be a profitable aspect of travel blogging?

Yes, selling travel itineraries can be a profitable aspect of travel blogging. By creating and selling travel itineraries, you can provide value to your audience while also earning money. You can create custom itineraries for your readers based on their preferences and interests, or you can create pre-made itineraries that can be purchased directly from your blog. Make sure to provide high-quality itineraries that are tailored to your audience’s needs and interests.

What strategies do top earning travel bloggers use to generate income?

Top earning travel bloggers use a variety of strategies to generate income. Some of the most common strategies include affiliate marketing, sponsored content, advertising, and selling digital products. They also focus on creating high-quality content that is engaging and informative for their audience. They build a strong brand and audience by being consistent and authentic in their content. They also collaborate with other bloggers and brands to expand their reach and increase their income streams.

How can travel bloggers create content that attracts income?

To create content that attracts income, travel bloggers should focus on creating high-quality, engaging, and informative content that resonates with their audience. They should also incorporate affiliate links and sponsored content in a way that is natural and relevant to their content. They should also focus on building a strong brand and audience by being consistent and authentic in their content. They should also collaborate with other bloggers and brands to expand their reach and increase their income streams.

What steps are involved in starting a successful travel blog?

To start a successful travel blog, you need to choose a niche, create a brand, choose a blogging platform, and create high-quality content. You should also focus on building a strong audience by being consistent and authentic in your content. You should also network with other bloggers and brands to expand your reach and increase your income streams. It’s also important to have a marketing strategy in place to promote your blog and attract new readers.

How long typically does it take for a travel blog to start earning money?

It can take anywhere from a few months to a year or more for a travel blog to start earning money. It depends on various factors such as the quality of your content, the size of your audience, and the monetization strategies you use. It’s important to be patient and consistent in your efforts and to focus on creating high-quality content that resonates with your audience.

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